Death toll from Hurricane Helene soars to over 90, North Carolina reeling
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A van is partially submerged in the Swannanoa River in the Biltmore Village in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept 29 in Asheville, North Carolina.
PHOTO: AFP
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VALDOSTA, Georgia - The death toll from the powerful storm Helene jumped to at least 93 on Sept 29, with one county in North Carolina alone reporting 30 deaths, the authorities said, as rescuers battled to reach people in need across the south-eastern United States.
The storm response took on a political tinge after US President Joe Biden and the two candidates vying to replace him, Ms Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, announced plans to soon visit hard-hit areas, some of them in key battleground states in the November election.
High winds and torrential rain pummelled towns and cities across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Homes were destroyed, roads flooded out and power cut off to millions.
“We are hearing (of) significant infrastructure damage to water systems, communication, roads, critical transportation routes, as well as several homes that have been just destroyed by this,” said the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), Ms Deanne Criswell.
At least 93 people were killed in the extreme weather – 37 in North Carolina, 25 in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, two in Tennessee and one in Virginia, according to tallies from the local authorities compiled by AFP. That total was expected to rise.
“We have another devastating update. We now have 30 confirmed losses due to the storm,” Sheriff Quentin Miller from North Carolina’s Buncombe County, which includes the tourist city of Asheville, told a briefing.
Flood warnings remained in effect in parts of western North Carolina, amid fears of potential dam failures.
Conditions were expected to improve in the affected areas by around Oct 1, National Weather Service director Ken Graham said.
Nearly 2.2 million households remained without power on Sept 29, according to tracker poweroutage.us.
US Department of Energy official Matt Targuagno said that crews were working hard to restore electricity, but warned it would be “a complex, multi-day response”.
Thousands of people continued to seek assistance in shelters run by the American Red Cross, organisation official Jennifer Pipa said.
Bridges washed away
Flood damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept 29 in Asheville, North Carolina.
PHOTO: AFP
Helene blew into Florida’s northern Gulf shore as a huge Category 4 hurricane with winds of 225kmh. But even as it weakened, it wreaked havoc.
North Carolina saw some of the worst of the flooding, with Governor Roy Cooper saying rescuers were being forced to airlift supplies in some areas due to damaged or flooded roads.
“I don’t know that anybody could be fully prepared for the amount of flooding and landslides that they are experiencing right now,” Fema’s Ms Criswell said on CBS, adding that more search and rescue teams were being deployed.
Mr William Ray, director of North Carolina’s emergency management department, warned that conditions were still extremely dangerous.
Hundreds of roads across the region remained closed, with several bridges washed away by floodwaters.
Four major interstate highways were closed across North Carolina and Tennessee, with multiple bridges still out, said Ms Kristin White of the US Department of Transportation.
Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina each had more than 100 road closures, she added.
Damage and residual flooding from Mill Creek is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept 29 in Old Fort, North Carolina.
PHOTO: AFP
In the Georgia city of Valdosta, the storm ripped the roofs off buildings, and left road intersections a tangle of felled utility poles and trees.
“The wind started really hitting, like, there were branches and pieces of the roof hitting the side of the building and hitting the windows,” said Valdosta resident Steven Mauro.
“And then we were looking out and then literally this whole street, just everything went black.”
Trump, the Republican former US president seeking another term, will visit Valdosta on Sept 30 for a briefing on the disaster, his campaign said.
Mr Biden, who has approved federal aid for several states in the wake of the disaster, intends to travel to hard-hit areas this week, “as soon as it will not disrupt emergency response operations”, the White House said on Sept 29, later adding that Ms Harris would do the same.
“We will stand with these communities for as long as it takes to make sure that they are able to recover and rebuild,” Ms Harris said on Sept 29 evening at a campaign rally in Las Vegas.
Mr Biden was scheduled to speak about the post-storm response from the White House on Sept 30. AFP
